Abstract; Introduction: Challenges To The Enterprise Data Center; Power, Cooling, And Density - Compaq BL10e - HP ProLiant - 512 MB RAM Introduction Manual

Abstract

This technology brief discusses general concepts involved in emerging data center architecture. Some
of the challenges that are shaping data centers today include power and cooling, the increased
complexity of the infrastructure and how to manage it efficiently, and the total cost of ownership. It is
especially critical to manage costs so that operating expenses are reduced. As a result, more
resources can be applied to new innovation, driving business growth.
An adaptive, or flexible, infrastructure is required that responds to these challenges. Fundamental
requirements for an adaptive infrastructure include modularity, the ability to virtualize systems,
manageability, and energy efficiency. More advanced infrastructure functionality requires more
dynamic behavior, such as real-time discovery and state information, using the same tools to manage
physical and virtualized systems, isolating and encapsulating functions, along with analysis and
optimization of computing resources. HP has responded to these challenges with the HP Adaptive
Infrastructure strategy and portfolio that delivers a business-ready infrastructure. The BladeSystem
c-Class architecture is core to an Adaptive Infrastructure with specific design innovations of
modularity, power and cooling densities, improved manageability, and virtualization.
This technology brief focuses on the server technology side of delivering an Adaptive Infrastructure.
While storage and networking architectures are important considerations in the Adaptive
Infrastructure strategy, they are not the focus of this paper. This brief is written with the assumption
that the reader is familiar with HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem architectures. If not, please refer to
the HP websites www.hp.com/go/proliant, and www.hp.com/go/bladesystem, as well as the
additional URLs in the "For More Information" section at the end of this paper.

Introduction: Challenges to the enterprise data center

Much has been written about the challenges to the modern enterprise data center. Some of these
challenges are listed and discussed below:

• Power, cooling, and density

• Comprehensive management. Managing a data center is increasingly difficult as a result of the
increasing number and complexity of new applications; at the same time, businesses are
demanding accelerated deployment of solutions, and the infrastructure continues to get more
complex.
• Cost of ownership, including both capital and operational expenses
These challenges will force data center architectures and implementations to move up a level in
flexibility and responsiveness to make it a truly business-ready or "Adaptive" infrastructure.
Power, cooling, and density
As aggregate demand for computing cycles has increased, the interlinked issues of power, cooling,
and density have emerged as critical issues for enterprise data centers. In some cases, power and
cooling costs have emerged as an infrastructure selection criterion that is just as important as
performance levels or acquisition cost. .
Because of the interdependencies among power, cooling, and density, effective solutions are most
likely to come from large integrated system suppliers as opposed to niche market suppliers who
typically address only a portion of the problem. The optimal solution will involve understanding
workload requirements, technology roadmaps, and facility limitations. It may require a combination of
establishing best practices, using efficient components and systems, using virtual machines to
consolidate server hardware, replacing servers, building new facilities, optimizing the efficiency of the
infrastructure, and outsourcing portions of the enterprise workload.
2